


Aquila

by Wildleocat



Category: Harry Potter Next generation - Fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-04-26 15:47:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5010550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wildleocat/pseuds/Wildleocat





	1. Chapter 1

Fans of fictional stories write fanfiction, whether they write them out or just play them out in their heads. I do both. I have started writing out my Lord of the Rings fanfic., but I have many, for lack of a better term, role-playing games of the stories I’ve made up about my many fandoms: Les Miserables, Star Trek, BBC’s Sherlock, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Ranger’s Apprentice, Harry Potter. Yeah, that’s a lot. But the scariest and most cool thing happened to me 4 months before I turned 17 in this world. I went to one of the other worlds. It happened on a cold and snowing day in April. Michigan weather, I’m telling you! Snow, in April! Anyways, I had gotten into bed on this snowing night in April, and I started wishing I could be the witch from Harry Potter that I had created. I wished for my fanfiction to become my life. I lay in bed, playing with the ruby ring I got for my 16th birthday, wishing to just be my character, 15 year old Aquila. Willowy, lithe, nimble - a seeker build, with bright, intelligent blue eyes and bright red hair. An incredible seeker on account of having Viktor Krum’s son as a friend and mentor at the all boys school she had been asked to attend at the age of 10 (well, maybe more than friend).Suddenly, my messy bedroom melted away and was replaced by the fantastically clean room I had imagined in my mind. I get up, tip-toe to my bookshelf, reach up, and pull down my wand from the top shelf. I feel a stirring in the air and a million spells rush into my mind, along with the knowledge that I would have accumulated over 15 years of being an avid learner and living in the Wizarding world. My memory of my old life fades, but I know there is still a me living my old life with my old family. Then the seriousness of who I now am comes. And the fears, and joys, and skills. My owl, Galadriel, sits in the corner on her perch, and the  doorknob of my bedroom door begins to turn.


	2. Chapter 2

 Scorpius enters my room. By the time he gets the door open I’m safe in bed, my wand shoved under my pillow. I wonder if he knows that he looks exactly like his father, Mr. Draco Malfoy. He probably does considering he acts like his father all the time. But then again, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.“What do you want Scorpius? I was about to fall asleep” I ask in a bored voice.“Were you really?” he asks.“Yes, I was. Tomorrow I’m leaving to go back to Durmstrang.”“Oh yeah! Right. I suspect you’d like to get some sleep then. But don’t you have, like, a two day train ride ahead of you?” he asks.“All the more reason I need to go to bed, about now.” I say patiently.“Well then, you can probably go to sleep then. Nothing’s keeping you.” He pulls out my desk chair and sits down.“Other than the fact that I don’t trust you.” I say. He gives me a look, and in his eyes I see pain. He hasn’t looked like that after I’ve said something like that.“Not my problem” he says dismissively. Now he’s back to normal.“Is there something you want?” I ask.“Yes, but no.” he shrugs.“What do you want?”“A lot of things” he says nonchalantly like he knows exactly how aggravating he’s being and doesn’t care.“What do you want?” I demand. But he just sits silently and ignores me. So I just turn on my light and grab my newest charms textbook form my night stand and set myself to learning the next spell in the book. After about 5 minutes, Scorpius leaves, so I turn off my light and go to sleep, just to get tomorrow to come faster.


	3. Chapter 3

We sail underwater for a day and a half. We eat on the deck where a glass bubble has been set up for us to eat under water. We passed by a coral reef at lunch and the many colored fish were spectacular to see up close while not wet. Our ship is disillusioned so muggle divers wouldn’t see us pass. We also saw dolphins feeding at dinner the first night. We sleep in hammocks hanging from the ceiling. As we travel, we plan our entrance. Each student has different ideas, but we end up with a plan similar to the entrance performed for the first tournament with a few extra twists. At the orphanage, before the Malfoys adopted me, I took archery lessons and own my own 40 pound recurve bow, which I brought with just in case. All the other students unanimously wanted to incorporate it into the performance. So I have my own little solo to perform with Nikolai.  
The second day is when we are scheduled to arrive at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At around 4:30 we are all hustled below deck for the transition from the Atlantic Ocean to the Hogwarts lake. We notice no change in anything other the view from the portholes. The water goes from the blue-gray of the sea the green-gray of a lake. Then, we are shooting upwards. We surface violently, and the rocking of the ship causes many people to fall over, which in turn insights a huge outbreak of everyone excitedly talking over each other. We all scramble to stand up and head to our sleeping area to change into our formal uniforms. I grab my uniform, a brown shirt, pants, and boots, and go to the bathroom to change. I grab my bow, string it, and sit with it on my lap as I wait for the time to leave the ship.  
When we finally get to leave the ship, we all file out in no particular order. Mark, Nikolai, and I walk together up the shore of the lake we appeared from towards the towering castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The castle is a lot bigger than Durmstrang and looks more welcoming with all of the windows ablaze with lights that shine out into the semi-darkness of twilight like the stars that are starting to come out. It the lawn before the great front doors stands the gigantic Beauxbatons Academy carriage.  
“Madame Maxime is already here? Good. That means we must make a big impression as we are last. Aquila! Do you have your bow?” Headmaster asks sharply.  
“Yes, sir!” I answer with a bow and I hold it up for him to see.  
“Very good.” Headmaster walks over to me and Nikolai.  
“I want you two to enter the Great Hall last since you have greater status than the rest of the students. Walk straight down the aisle without looking at anyone. When you reach the end, do as we discussed earlier.” he explains to us in a hushed tone so none of the other students near us can hear. Nikolai and I both nod and soon we are walking through the entryway to the castle. Headmaster, Nikolai, and I wait at as the rest of the students start our entrance. We can hear all the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the other students in the Great Hall. As we wait, I suddenly turn to Headmaster.  
“Sir? May I ask for a favor?”  
“What do you mean, Aquila?” he asks, surprised at my boldness.  
“When we are all done with our entrance, may we please not sit at the Slytherin table? Could we possibly sit at any of the others that Beauxbatons is not at?”  
“What are you talking about Aquila? What are Slytherin and what does it matter to you?” he inquires.  
“Hogwarts separates its students into four Houses; Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. My foster brother is in Slytherin and we do not agree with each other. As in, I do not trust him or his family, even though they adopted me...” I try to explain, but I trail off, not knowing what else to say to convince the Headmaster to grant my request.  
“Why do you not trust your foster family?” he asks quietly. I look down, searching to see if I was ready to let Nikolai know about this part of my life. I figured I was going to tell someone at some point, so it didn’t really matter now.  
“Because my adopted father is a Death Eater.” I say even quieter, still not looking at either Nikolai nor Headmaster. I hear Nikolai’s small gasp of astonishment. I raise my head and look straight at Headmaster. He looks at me for a moment before saying,  
“We will see what can be done. But now, it’s time for our entrance.” We all turn and I square my shoulders before marching into the Great Hall. It is set up just as I have read. The four house tables lined up with a great aisle down the center, which Nikolai and I walk down together. When we reach the end of the aisle, I turn, drawing back my bow. As I pull the string back, Nikolai supplies an arrow of magic. The whole hall quiets as I stand there with the arrow on my string. When the whole hall is completely silent, I release. Up to the ceiling, where it exploded into a shower of fireworks which forms into the Durmstrang crest. The hall explodes in cheers and whoops and whistles. We stand up in the front of the hall, lit up by the fire that students lit behind us and the fire above us. Finally, we are ushered to a table to sit down. It’s not until I’m seated and the noise goes down that I realize where I am and who sits in front of me. A girl of exactly the same age, and almost an exact carbon copy of me. It looked like I was sitting across from a mirror. We both stare at each other, flabbergasted.  
“Lily, who is that?” The boy next to her asks. He’s about 17 years old, with unruly black hair and green eyes. Is that, James Potter? The eldest son of Harry and Ginny Potter? If so, then my identical twin must be,  
“Sorry, I’m Lily. Lily Potter. This is James, my brother. Welcome to Hogwarts!” She says brightly.  
“Nice to meet you! My name is Aquila.” I say. “And these are Nikolai and Mark.”  
“That was quite a show you guys!!” James says enthusiastically  
“Thanks,” I say shyly. We all turn as the headmistress stands up and the hall falls silent.  
“To all our distinguished guests, we at Hogwarts bid you welcome to our school. We hope you will enjoy your stay here with us throughout this year. If any students, whether from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, or our American friends wish to try classes with another school, there will be sign-up sheets made accessible to you. And now, let us enjoy our feast and get to know one another. I strongly recommend trying to get to know some students from a school other than yours as international friendships help build a strong platform for political cooperation in the future. Let us begin!” as she finished her speech, she raised her arms and the four tables filled with food. French, Norwegian, English, and American foods completely covered the table. We all started digging in, picking and choosing what we felt like trying. I reached for some of the familiar food, grabbing a plate of rolls the same time Nickolai did. I quickly retract my hand, blushing a little.  
“Here,” he says, handing me a roll, and then picking one out for himself.  
“Thanks,” I say quietly, placing the roll onto my plate. I notice Nickolai raising an eyebrow at Mark as if asking him what he thought. Mark glanced at me, before giving Nickolai a thumbs up and turning back to his plate. Throughout the rest of dinner, I covertly watch Nickolai. I can’t help notice that he’s grown up more, with developed muscles from his quidditch training. He has short, dark brown hair like his father and kind blue eyes. I’ve always wanted to get to know him better, as he is my mentor. He hasn’t ever really done anything to help me at Durmstrang like mentors are supposed to do. I try to shrug it off and turn back to Lily and James. We chat a bit until McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts rises again. The hall slowly quiets again, and McGonagall starts:  
“This year, as rules have become more relaxed and wizards more skilled, the admittance age will be 15 and older. Two students from each school will be chosen to compete in both individual and team tasks over the course of the year. The team tasks will be harder than the individual tasks as you will have to work as a team to succeed. Teams will be from either your school or from two students from different schools. These students will be selected from the Tournament Cup, the impartial judge that has been used for centuries to determine competitors in these wizarding tournaments. For those of you who know your history, the cup will reside in the great hall, and no one will be able to approach it during the off school hours other than me. This is to ensure the safety and respect the wishes of all students. Now, your teachers will be explaining the specific details to you all later. Off to bed!” Everyone rose at the end of her speech, and, after bidding Lily and James good night, I followed Nickolai out of the castle with Mark right on my heels. We went back to the ship, where the beds had been set out again. I curled up on my bed in the corner, and tried to get to sleep, but my brain would not shut off.  
'Will I enter?' the thought kept running through my head. 'I don’t think I’m that good. I know I can learn quickly, but will all that knowledge actually help me in the moment of the task?' I sat up in bed, trying to figure out my conundrum. I pull my knees up, resting my arms on them and burying my face in them. I hear some rustling from one of the other beds, and assume someone is getting comfortable. Then someone settles on the edge of my bed. I look up and in the dim light I see Nickolai.  
“Is everything alright?” he asks, concern evident on his face. This takes me by surprise. 'He’s never really cared about me before. It’s always been Mark who noticed my internal struggles.' I thought. Outloud, I whisper;  
“Yeah. I just can’t get my brain to shut off.”  
“Trying to decide whether or not to enter the tournament?” he asks gently.  
“How did you know?” I ask, flabbergasted that he guessed so easily.  
“You were muttering a little. And you’ve been really quiet since the announcement.” he shrugs.  
“Ok, yes, that’s what’s keeping me up. I’m not sure I’m going to enter.” I say, also shrugging a little.  
“Why not?” he asks. Not pushy, not incredulous, just curious.  
“I’m not confident in my ability to perform under duress. I know I can learn quickly, but will that knowledge actually help me during the tasks, or will it fly away as soon as they start?” I say, for once actually stating exactly what was going through my head. I’d never done that before, not even with Mark.  
“Aquila,” Nikolai says softly, “You’ve already proven that your knowledge doesn’t ‘fly away’ when you’re under pressure. What do you think the dueling tournament was?”  
“Practice. That’s all I thought when going into it. That I didn’t really have anything to lose or gain from the experience other than practice.” I explain, a little exasperated.  
“Why don’t you think the same thing before the tasks, and that’s even if you get chosen?” he asks patiently.  
“I’d never be able to convince myself that it was ‘just practice’” I sigh.  
“Well, here’s something Mark just told me when I was deliberating over something: ‘You’ll miss 100% of the shots you never take.’ Aquila, you’ll never know if you can perform unless you try. If the judge doesn’t choose you, then you’re safe. But I know that if you don’t enter, you’ll beat yourself up over it and the thoughts of ‘I wonder if I could have done that’ will eat away at you more than the thought of ‘should I enter’ ever will.” he wraps his arm around me, giving me a quick hug. “Now, go to sleep. We have long days ahead of us.” He stands up and start settling in.  
“Nikolai?” I say as he starts to head back to his bed.  
“Hmm?” he turns back towards me.  
“Thank you, and Goodnight,” I say simply. He’s given me invaluable advice. He smiles at my thanks, a sweet, extremely pleased smile.  
“You’re welcome Aquila. And Goodnight to you too.” We both settle into bed, me feeling extremely relieved and happy at the same time. 'Maybe Nikolai will start helping me more' my sleepy brain says quietly. I’m too tired to logically respond and instead think happily, 'Maybe.'


	4. Chapter 4

My departure day dawns bright and fresh. A perfect day, A littletoo nice to travel. I want to spend the day out in the woods or in a meadow, breathing the fresh air. Not cooped up in a train. I’d much rather fly to school, but that would be too risky, and anyways, I don’t own a broom. At least I’ll be able to open the window, because on normal trips, I have the compartment to myself, mostly because I like to sit in the back. To get to school, I have to travel from London to somewhere in either Norway or Sweden. I can’t say and actually don’t really know which country it’s in. I have a feeling it’s on the border somewhere. I get dropped off at the station by my foster family and soon the train is sweeping out of the station on the way out to the London Airport. From there, I will take a short flight to Norway, where I get on the Durmstrang train with the rest of my schoolmates. The train car is empty, as usual. I stare out the window as the english countryside flies past. Suddenly, the door to my compartment opens.“May I sit here? Oh! Aquila!” a surprised male voice says behind me. I whip around at the sound of my name.“Mark! Why are you here?” I ask my friend from school. Mark was the first person to actually talk to me. Most of the students gave me a wide berth, since I’m the only girl attending Durmstrang right now. (I’m the second girl to attend Durmstrang, the first being the time of the second war). Especially after I won the annual dueling tournament. First levels never win the tournament, and I managed to beat the longest standing champion, Nikolai Krum, Viktor Krum’s son. He had been champion for four years before I came. Now, at my fifth year, I’ve been undefeated and getting stronger. If I win, I’ll set a new record. To make matters worse, Nikolai is my mentor at Durmstrang. At Durmstrang, new students are paired with older students who are supposed to help the younger student learn the ropes and be a friendly face in the darkish halls of the school and to be a tutor in times of academic need. He hasn’t really done anything to help me succeed in school at all. Luckily for me, I’m good at adapting and I love learning, so I haven’t had a problem. Except when events came and we were forced to be together.While all of this flashed through my head, Mark was settling in, putting his small backpack on the top rack and sitting down across from me by the window.“I went to a muggle summer camp where we learned how to live in the wild off the land. It was so interesting!!!” he says with an excited glint in his eyes. Mark loves being outside in nature and I don’t blame him. Outside in the woods can be so pretty and relaxing.“That sounds amazing!” I say.“How was your summer?” He asks. I grimace. “That good?”“Let’s just say, I spent the whole summer by myself, because I don’t trust my foster family.” I say with a shrug.“You really need to get away from there” a new voice, one that makes me nervous (and, if I’m perfectly honest, love) says from the door.“Nikolai! I was wondering where you went! Aquila, Nikolai came with me because he had a Quidditch camp!” Mark says.“Do you mind if I join you?” Nikolai asks me directly, with no hint of resentment.“Sure!” I say. “How was camp?”“Long. But very rewarding.” he says as he sits down, next to me.“I wish I could learn to fly. The Malfoys will never let me. They would think it would give me a way to escape them.” I say, trying unsuccessfully to keep the bitterness out of my voice. After a pause, Nikolai surprises me yet again by saying, “I could teach you.”“Really?” I say, both confused and elated.“Sure, why not? You need to get away from your foster family by the sound it. I’m assuming you don’t have a broom?” He asks.“No, but I’ve been saving up. I have enough to buy one.” I say.“Ok. We can have it delivered to Durmstrang, and I’ll teach you.”“Sounds good. What can I do for you in return?” I ask. He looks surprised. “If you’re going to to teach me how to fly, I would like to do something for you.” I say as if it’s the most obvious thing ever, like it is for me. But apparently, it’s not to him. He sits with his brow furrowed, looking confused and deep in thought at the same time.“Would you be able to help me through the school year?” he asks. “I know you get the best grades of anyone and studying is the bane of my school existence.” he hurriedly explains.“Sure. I guess we can call it even now.” I say. I can’t help smiling.“What so funny Aquila?” Mark asks.“Nothing! I’m just excited!” I say. We lapse into a comfortable silence as we all stare out the window.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the train ride was uneventful and so was the plane ride to Norway. We board a ship that takes us to the school and Mark, Nicholai, and I sit together. Nicholai and I don’t talk much. I get the impression that he wants to talk to me, but doesn’t know what to say. So we sit silently through most of the ride. I mostly stare out of the porthole as we sink beneath the water of the fjord. The icy grey blue of the water glides past, too cold for any sea life to survive this far up north. We sometimes dare each other to swim in the fjord, but only when it gets warmer. The water gets darker as the sun sets and the lamps in the boat are lit. The noise level rises as we start to pack our things and quickly slip our school robes on over our travel clothes and await arrival. Suddenly, the boat gives a great lurch upwards and we come to the surface of the water. There we disembark on a deserted, rundown dock and face a narrow, overgrown road leading into the mountains surrounding the fjord. We are picked up by downward that are bewitched to float about three feet above the ground. We leave our luggage just off the dock and pole into the boats. Nikolai and I are the last two people off the ship and find an empty boat waiting for us. As the boats are three feet above the ground, and the sides are about one and a half feet tall, I always have difficulty getting into them. I start to scramble in when I'm all of a sudden picked up from behind and placed gently in the boat. Nikolai easily climbs in after me and the boat sets off, jerking us off towards the castle. We sit in silence just like we did on the way up here. But as we get closer to the castle, Nikolai breaks it.“So, why don’t you like your foster family?” he asks. I stare off into the darkness before answering.“I’m not sure if I’m comfortable saying why just yet. Also, the castle is right up ahead and I wouldn’t have time to anyway.”“Would you mind telling me?”“Maybe sometime soon. Remember though, we don’t see much of each other. You’re a 7th level, and I’m a 5th.”“That could change. You’re also the smartest 5th level ever.” Those two comments stun me into silence. But fortunately, the lights of Durmstrang castle shine out into the darkness. The big, hulking fortress looms out of the darkness as we round the last bend in the path. The path opens up into a wide, tree-lined lane. In front of us stands a huge, wrought iron gate that swings open noiselessly as we approach and closes with a clang once we’re through. As we draw close to the doors of the castle, I can feel a difference in the atmosphere. It’s like all the stones are holding their breath. We climb out of the boat, or, I scramble out and Nikolai steps out, and we hurry up the steps into the hall. The sounds of hundreds of kids talking in hushed but excited voices comes from the massive doors on the left. Nikolai and I walk in and separate, heading to our class tables. I take a seat next to Mark and sit as the headmaster stands in the front of the room, and signals for quiet.“Welcome back.” he says with a small bow. “Tonight we begin our year with a bang. This year, a select few students will be traveling with me to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the new Tri-Wizard Tournament, which has a few new additions. First, each school will have two champions who will work both as a team and individually in the tournament. Because of this, it is being called the Hex-Wizard Tournament because there will be six champions total. Secondly, there will be more tasks to accommodate the larger amount of students. Thirdly and finally, students will be selected from age 15 and up. We believe that the students who have gone through their 4th year of school, when paired with another student of the same age or older, will be able to participate. To decide which students will be going, we will be having an extra dueling tournament this year comprised of 4th levels and up. Please remember, at Hogwarts, their champions will be coming from 4th year and up because they start school at age 11 whereas we start at age 10. So while our youngest will have been studying for 5 years, theirs will only have been studying for 4. I expect a good turnout this year. The extra tournament is going to be held tomorrow after classes. Those wishing to enter, and I expect all of you to enter, will meet here after dinner. Now, let’s eat.” He sat down abruptly and the tables filled with the warm northern food that is served here. Kjøttkaker, or meat cakes, rough and large cakes of ground beef, onion and salt and pepper with potatoes, stewed peas or cabbage and carrots served on the side. Kjøttboller, or meatballs: rougher versions of the Swedish meatballs served with mashed potatoes and cream-sauce or sauce espagnole depending on the locality. Svinekoteletter, or pork chops. Simply braised and served with potatoes and fried onions. Svinestek-roast pork: served with pickled cabbage (a sweeter variety of the German sauerkraut), gravy, vegetables and potatoes. Lapskaus-stew: resembles Irish stew, but mincemeat, sausages or really any meat except fresh pork. Fårikål - mutton stew: the national dish of Norway. Cabbage and mutton is layered in a big pot with black peppercorns, salt covered with water and simmered until the meat is very tender and potatoes on the side. Stekte pølser - fried sausages: sausages fried and served with vegetables, potatoes, peas and sometimes some gravy. Sodd-a traditional Norwegian soup-like meal with mutton and meatballs with potatoes or carrots.        Once the meal is done, we are went off to bed. The boys sleep in towers by level, but I sleep in an old classroom that was converted to a bedroom when the first girl came to study at Durmstrang during the years of Voldemort and the last Tri-Wizard Tournament. The year Harry Potter became the fourth champion and Voldemort returned. I have never told my family, nor anyone else, but I have read the books written by Ms. Rowling, a famous biographer that she wrote about Mr. Harry Potter’s life. They live, concealed as extra textbooks to everyone but me in my school trunk. Mark is the only other person who knows about them. I pull out the fourth book, the one about Mr. Potter’s 4th year and the Tri-Wizard tournament and sit on my bed. I flip it open to a random spot and read about the first task; dragons. I am definitely going to enter the tournament tomorrow to fight for a chance to go to Hogwarts. Mr. Potter’s kids go there right now. The youngest, Lily, is exactly the same age as me. I wonder if she is going to enter. I don’t really care if I see Scorpius there. I fall asleep reciting spells and their uses in my head for the tournament tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

The following day of classes went by in a flash. I was surprised to find that I wasn’t as far ahead of my classes as usual. Normally I fly through at least the first day ahead of everyone because I read all of my books over the summer. Apparently everyone did some frantic studying last night in preparation for the tournament this evening. I have my work cut out for me. When I walk into lunch a see Nikolai sitting with Mark. Usually I eat by myself, but instead, this time I walk over briskly and sit down right next to Mark.“May I borrow some of your books?” I ask him.“Sure!” he says startled, handing me his book bag. I pull out his spell book and immerse myself in it. I eat slowly, digesting each spell and their complexities and uses.Someone poking my shoulder brings me abruptly back to the loud dining hall.“Aquila, you know you aren’t going to be able to perform any of those spells, right? They’re 7th level spells!” Nikolai says. I pull out my wand, point it at Mark and without saying a word, make him fly up into the air and hover, right above the table. I gently set him back down at his spot. I then flick my wand at the sandwich makings and they fly neatly into a perfect sandwich, which I hand to Nikolai.“Thank you for letting me use your books. The spell for hanging Mark upside down is on page 247. Now I’m going to the library to see if I can find some more useful information for the tournament tonight.” I walk off, leaving Nikolai and Mark gaping at me.That night, after a successful library search, classes, and dinner, everyone 15 and older gathers at the entrance to the dining hall. I sit on a bench against the wall, relaxing. I sit with my eyes closed, breathing deeply through my nose. I feel someone sit next to me.“You ready?” Mark asks.“Yeah. You?” I ask in return.“I hope so.” he says, sounding doubtful.“I’m sure you’ll be fine. They have to accept the same amount of students from every level, so that if a young one is chosen there can be an older one to accompany them.” I try to reassure him. We sit quietly until the doors open and we are allowed to file in.The tournament begins. Each level competes against the students in that level. I fly through each duel, without a single loss or miscalculation. On my second to last match my opponent manages to nick me a little with a well timed and placed jinx, but I quickly knock them flat. My last duel ends with a disappointing disarming charm that throws my opponent across the room. This gets cheers and boos from all over the hall. I hadn’t realized that my duel was the last to finish, nor how quiet it had gotten while I was fighting until after I was done and everyone started to talk at at the same time. The headmaster stands up and we all quiet down so he can speak.“Well done. The students who have been selected will be leaving the day after tomorrow for Hogwarts. They will be excused from classes tomorrow so they can pack and study if they need to. Good Night to you all.”I head to my room, flushed with excitement and pride at what I had done. I was going to Hogwarts! I get to enter in the tournament and see if I’m worthy of being picked. When I get to my room I pull out the 4th book about Mr. Harry Potter’s school years, sit down on my bed, and immerse myself in it. I lay down on my bed and continue to read, soon fall asleep, clutching the book to my chest.The next morning, I pack and get everything ready to depart. That night, there’s a huge celebratory sending off feast. I sit next to Mark and across the table from Nickolai. When the feast is over it is time to leave, so we rise from our seats and exit the hall to the cheers and shouts of encouragement and good luck wishes of the rest of the school. We exit the school and ride the boats down to the dock. Nickolai and I end up in the same boat again, but with Mark this time. It’s Mark who helps me in with a laugh.“You need some help little sis?” he jokes.“Thanks big brother.” I reply with a grin. Nickolai watches Mark like he wishes he was in Mark’s spot. But soon the boats are off and we all sit in silence as we watch the castle disappear behind the trees.“It feels weird leaving it so soon. It doesn’t feel right to me. Like I won’t see it again.” I say quietly.“Why wouldn’t you see it again?” Nikolai asks, surprised.“How much did you read last night Aquila?” Mark asks in a condescending big brother voice.“Only until I fell asleep!” I say. “But I might have fallen asleep while reading…”“Aquila!” Mark says, now completely sounding like my big brother. I laugh outright at this thought. “What’s so funny?” Mark asks confused.“You sound exactly like an older brother.” I say, still laughing lightly. “Can you please just be my older brother?” I ask.“Sure!” Mark says exuberantly.“Yay.” I say softly with a smile, and turn my attention to the drive ahead, but not before seeing the jealous look Nickolai throughs Mark, who returns it with a shrug. But I can’t worry about it now. We have reached the dock


End file.
